Field Level Media
Nov 26, 2021
Matt Bradley recorded 18 points and seven rebounds to help San Diego State reach the Wooden Legacy championship game with a 73-56 victory over Georgetown on Thursday night at Anaheim, Calif.
The Aztecs (4-1) will face No. 24 Southern California (5-0) in Friday night's title game.
Sophomore Lamont Butler scored a career-best 16 points on 6-of-6 shooting and Nathan Mensah blocked four shots for San Diego State.
Freshman Aminu Mohammed scored a career-best 20 points for the Hoyas (2-2). Dante Harris added 19 points.
Georgetown faces Saint Joseph's (2-3) in Friday's consolation game.
The victory was No. 100 in 132 career games for fifth-year San Diego State coach Brian Dutcher.
The Aztecs shot 48.3 percent from the field, including 7 of 16 (43.8 percent) from 3-point range.
The Hoyas shot 35.1 percent and were 4 of 20 (20 percent) from behind the arc. Georgetown went 6 of 22 from the field (27.3 percent) in the second half and missed its final 10 attempts.
The Hoyas were in the game when they rattled off seven straight points early in the second half to trail 44-39.
San Diego State responded with 10 consecutive points. Butler had two 3-pointers around a layup for the first eight points and Aguek Arop completed the run with a put-back dunk to give the Aztecs a 54-39 lead with 15:14 remaining.
Georgetown answered with a 14-3 run and moved within 57-53 on Mohammed's driving basket with 9:39 left. However, the Hoyas didn't make another field goal and San Diego State put the game away with a 15-1 burst.
The Aztecs started the surge with Trey Pulliam's jumper, Keshad Johnson's fastbreak dunk and Keith Dinwiddie's 3-pointer to push the lead to 11 with 7:13 remaining.
Mohammed split two free throws with 6:53 to play before Bradley scored four straight points and Mensah made two free throws to give San Diego State a 70-54 advantage with 4:19 left. Butler scored on a stellar driving layup to make it a game-high, 18-point lead with 1:24 left.
Bradley scored 11 first-half points and San Diego State led 40-32 at the break. Harris scored 16 in the half for the Hoyas.
The Aztecs finished the first half with a 14-4 spurt, finishing in style when Adam Seiko's straightaway 3-pointer bounced high off the rim before falling in as time expired.
--Field Level Media